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Talking About Intimate Health with Canesten®- Giveaway

Are there certain types of conversations that make you cringe? I know there are a few for me. I try to be pretty open and honest with my children but I’m pretty sure there will be a few toe curling conversations in the future. Ava at 2 is still too young to ask many questions but Kyle has always been very inquisitive. He knows he can come and ask us anything and that we will always try and answer him, or find the answer if we don’t know. When I was pregnant with Ava he wouldn’t accept a simple explanation of how the baby got in and out of my tummy. We were a bit baffled at how to go about answering him, he was almost seven at the time. We decided on the proper terminology, science side. He took it all in then got a bit bored with it all and stopped asking.

He’s zooming towards the tween years at the moment. He told me the other day about the lessons they have been having at School, ‘the gross ones Mummy’ so I made sure I sat and listened to what he had to say. I want him and the other two to know that it’s okay to talk about body changes, how they’re feeling and anything that may be worrying or upsetting them.

Whilst I will be having conversations with him, no doubt very soon, they will maybe be a little different to the ones I will have with my daughter. Obviously their different body parts will play a big role in the future conversations. When I think about the future talks I will have with Ava the obvious ones like puberty, periods, sex and relationships come straight to my mind. I hadn’t really thought about talking to her about problems that might occur like thrush, cystitis and BV. I’m hoping she will be able talk to me about any problems without finding it too embarrassing to actually tell me. Canesten® know the importance of normalising conversation about intimate health and common intimate conditions, between mothers and their daughters. Promoting female intimate health through better knowledge means women can self-diagnose and self-treat knowledgeably and with confidence, which is what I want for her.

I can remember puberty being a time where I really wasn’t sure what was normal and what wasn’t. I tended to worry about things myself rather than asking. I’m still like that a bit now and as a worrier it’s something I don’t want for my children. I was lucky that my first experience of cystitis wasn’t until I was older. Not so lucky however that it was so bad I needed antibiotics, which unfortunately seems to be the norm for me if I ever get it. The last time I had it was after driving to Devon and not stopping when I needed the toilet. It’s always a good excuse now to make James take a break though as I think he felt a bit guilty! Cystitis is easier to talk about for some reason than thrush, which luckily I’ve only ever had once, mildly, when taking some strong antibiotics which is a common side effect. Knowing the signs and symptoms means I can self treat, or get help to treat the problem in the early stages.

Win with Canesten®

Today I’ve teamed up with Canesten® to offer one of my readers the chance to win a £50 Amazon voucher. Canesten® want to encourage us to have conversations with our daughters about their intimate health and are asking you the question;

What I wish I knew about intimate health when I was younger

Enter via the Rafflecopter form below where full terms and conditions can be found. Good luck!

Disclosure: This post has been supported by Canesten® but all thoughts are my own.

240 Comments

My 5 year has cystitis this week which has spread to a kidney infection. Thankfully the antibiotics have kicked in and she is getting better now.
I was brought up by my Dad so I didn’t really have someone to talk to about all the female stuff, not someone who had experienced it anyway.

I wish I knew that it is very important to gain knowledge about intimate health and that it is a natural body change that happens to all girls so completely normal. I remember feeling embarrassed to talk about these things and feeling awkward.

I have a teenager and she has always been too embarrassed to talk to me about intimate health, despite me being very open. I bought her a book in the end so at least she would have a reputable source of information. I wish she knew it’s ok to talk about these things and hopefully as she grows older she will start to feel more comfortable about it. I did teach her from an early age to always wipe front to back 😉

I am that old the subject wasn’t even covered at school! My Mum did explain one or two things, usually because
she had noticed rather than me asking. It is the role of parents in my opinion to explain and guide their
children, there are so many more educational and information resources out there to help. Thank you

I wish I had known I could have talked to my mum about anything without her judging me, but I was too embarrassed so it was not until I was much older that I was able to be open and she was most helpful and a great listener

There isn’t something I wish I’d known as I found it all out, but I only found it out because one of the other girls at school wrote my name and address on one of those little forms for the Tampax booklet. Otherwise my extremely religious parents never would have told me. It was quite a shock when that parcel arrived in the post.

I wish I’d known how important condoms are in protecting against the HPV virus. And I also wish I’d not been so uncomfortable about having a smear test as they are so important. I had a horrible cervical cancer scare a couple of years ago and needed invasive treatment as I’d not had one for 12 years!

To keep pushing when you know somethings not right! And to not be embarrassed listing all the symptoms if you have to see a doctor. I’ve had doctors who wouldn’t listen but now I’ve done my research, stood my ground and found the right doctor the problems finally being sorted!

That Doctors have seen it all before, and not to be afraid to go to them if you have an intimate problem. I used to worry so much when I had any thing wrong down there !!!! thinking I had some terrible disease. If I had been taught not to be embarrassed it would have saved me so much anguish.

I had parents who were young parents in the 60’s so never really got embarrassed about talking openly about sensitive subjects so I grew up with the same principles, it’s not embarrassing if it’s a natural occurrence or part of everyday life, my children are very open with their questions on sex, puberty and have friends that come to them for support rather than them go to their parents, there’s something to be said for flower power I guess! :0)

My mum found it all very embarrassing, all I got about periods was a packet of sanitary towels and was told that I might be needing these soon. And off she went. I didn’t mind, didn’t want to talk about it with her anyway. I hope my daughter didn’t find me quite so hopeless.

I wish I had access to the internet, I lived with my dad and never felt like I could have a minute alone with my mum when I did see her, I remember having my first period, I was at my nan’s house and my sister started clapping and dancing around like it was the best thing ever where as I was sat there not knowing what on earth to do! Luckily my dad would buy me lady things and always asked me to let him know if I needed more or different ones.

That it’s ok to ask anything you’re not sure about and don’t be embarrassed It’s your Mom you are talking to and she won’t emarrass you or make you feel bad about what you are asking. In fact sh’ell be glad you had the sense to ask in the first place

I wish I’d known if there were more options regarding periods and sanitary wear. My Mum bought me a pack of Dr Whites and a belt. It felt like I was wearing a huge wad of cotton wool! (very uncomfortable).